I hopped on a double-decker luxury bus for the seven hour overnight ride due south to the ferry terminal at Chumporn. Chumporn sits on the Gulf of Thailand, where ferries move tourists and locals alike to the scenic islands of Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and Ko Samui. Due to my budgetary constraints, familiarity with the place and the super accessible dive sites, Ko Tao was my destination.
Now I am by no means a salted seaman; I am by now a veteran of quite a few ferry rides here in Hong Kong, the Mediterranean, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and various other areas. Some of these ferry rides were quite rough, but never have I been more seasick than I got on the two hour ferry from Chumporn to Ko Tao. Whether it was the movie with Dane Cook/Jessica Simpson working in Costco playing on the boat or the massive bouncing waves, we may never know. I joined a few like minded tourists doubled over the rail in the back of the boat miserably hacking up a lung waiting to spot the island.
A bit of rain fell as I jumped in the back of a pickup and hitched a ride to the accommodation I had arranged. I was told that it had rained pretty much the last 14 days in Ko Tao and that was pretty evident by the flooded roads, the rutted out paths and general massive erosion. Because of this, I was worried about the prospects for decent diving and enjoyment of this tropical paradise.
The next few days could not have turned out better weather-wise. Saturday, the day I arrived, I spent the afternoon doing two dives with my instructor James from the UK. He reviewed my basic scuba skills then we had a nice fun dive at White Rock. After a baking hike over the mountain ridge to a secluded beach for a swim the next morning, I was out on the boat again, this time with another Brit Simon, highlighted by a cool swim through (basically swimming through an underwater tunnel).
My third and final day of diving on Monday consisted of a couple more dives with James in some choppy water. We submerged to thirty meters and saw some pretty nice sea life. Overall, the water was cloudier than it had been when I visited here about the same time of year two years ago. It could have been due to the rain, or the sea currents, or any number of factors. I also had wanted to fit in a night dive, but that was cancelled due to lack of visibility in the water. In any case, it was great to get back underwater and regain some skills I first learned two years ago.
In the evenings, I generally found a good restaurant to relax in, happy to pull up a pillow mat/bean bag, eat some Pad Thai and entertain myself watching pirated DVDs publicly shown at the restaurant before turning in early for a ten hour nap.
On rainy Tuesday morning, I hopped back in the back of the truck, got to the ferry terminal and the thankfully calmer seas. A short ride to Ko Samui and one of the coolest airports in the world (think outdoors, breezy, supremely laid back with free snacks and drinks). I flew back to Bangkok in time for my return flight to Hong Kong. A nice autumn getaway.
Click on this to see my Flickr set of photos from the weekend.
I could not be happier that I have found in Hong Kong medicine to help me treat all of the 87 mosquito bites that I recieved courtesy of my flying friends of Southern Thailand: MOPIDICK!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment